Game Day: No. 11 Florida vs No. 1 Alabama, (CBS), 3:30 pm

Saturday, September 18

Gainesville, Fla.

3:30 PM

Florida Gators

Alabama

Ben Hill Griffin Stadium - Team Takes Field

The "Swamp" figures to be in full-blown insanity mode when Alabama becomes the first No. 1 team since 2002 to come to Gainesville.

Game Day: No. 11 Florida vs No. 1 Alabama, (CBS), 3:30 pm

Thursday, September 16, 2021 | Football, Chris Harry

By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — How many true "Swamp" games have there been, oh, say, the last decade or so?

With Saturday's nationally televised super-Southeastern Conference showdown between No. 1 and reigning national champion Alabama (2-0) and No. 11 Florida (2-0) on the docket, the hard-corse UF fans know what that means and you know where the question is headed.

[Read senior writer Scott Carter's comprehensive "Opening Kickoff" posts here]

When Steve Spurrier made a phone to call to Gainesville Sun columnist Mike Bianchi in 1992 and told him about Florida Field's new nickname, the UF football coach put it like so: "Us Gators are comfortable in there, but we want our opponents to be tentative. A swamp is hot and stick and can be dangerous."

And ear-piercingly loud.

When Spurrier coined the "Swamp," the Gators had won all 12 of their home games with their favorite-son-turned-coach on the sidelines. They would go on to win the first 23 over four seasons and amass an astounding home record of 68-5 over Spurrier's 12 years. That's a winning percentage of .931.

After that, Ron Zook went 13-6 at home in his three seasons. Urban Meyer restored the "Swamp" mystique by going 35-4, including 34 wins in his first 35 home games on the way to two Southeastern Conference and a couple national championships. Will Muschamp was 18-8 in four seasons and Jim McElwain 14-4 in his nearly three. Dan Mullen, who arrived in 2018, is 14-3, with one five-game home season when only 22,000 could come due to pandemic protocols.

So since 2010, UF is 50-18 at what is now known as Spurrier/Florida Field. That's a .735 winning percentage. Just OK, but not great. Along the way you can count on one hand the games that were lit by "Swamp" standards, basically from opening kick to final gun.

Those games:

* Florida 28, Tennessee 27 (Sept. 26, 2015) — Will Grier hit Antonio Callway for a 63-yard touchdown on fourth-and-14 and Volunteers kicker Aaron Medley was wide right by inches with a 55-yard field-goal attempt at the gun, as UF improved to 4-0.

* No. 22 Florida 27, No. 5 LSU 19 (Oct. 6, 2018) — Safety Brad Stewart intercepted Joe Burrow and returned the play 25 yards for a touchdown with 1:45 remaining to help ice UF's first win over a top-five team in three years.

* No. 10 Florida 24, No. 7 Auburn 13 — The roar during Lamical Perine's 88-yard run with 9:04 to play may have reverberated all the way to the Alabama state line, as UF went to 6-0 on the season.

Note: Feleipe Franks' walk-off "Hail Mary" touchdown heave to Tyrie Cleveland against Tennessee is not included because the stadium was probably two-thirds filled at the time and that Vols team went 0-8 in league play.

So enter the Crimson Tide, the first top-ranked foe to come to town since Miami blew in and did a 41-16 number on the Gators in Zook's second game. Nick Saban's bunch has won 16 straight games, dating to a 2019 loss at Auburn, with the average margin of victory 26.9 points. Bama's closest game during that stretch was its 52-46 defeat of UF in the 2020 SEC Championship Game at Atlanta, a game the two team's combined for nearly 1,000 yards of offense.

That loss dropped Mullen to 0-10 all-time as a head coach against Bama (0-9 at Mississippi State; 0-1 at UF).

The Tide had 10 players off Saban's sixth national-championship team taken the 2021 NFL Draft, including a record six in the first round. Guess what? They have more future pros to replace them, which is why Bama will run through the visitors' tunnel as a 15-point favorite in a place that — in its day — was as intimidating a home field advantage as any in the country.

It'll need to be that again Saturday.

And, of course, even the most jack-up and hyped crowd in "Swamp" history may not make a difference.

Rewind to 2011. That was Muschamp's first season and Florida opened with four straight wins and moved up to No. 11. Enter Alabama, ranked third in the country. On the game's first play (after a false start penalty), UF quarterback John Brantley dropped and chucked a 65-yard touchdown pass to Andre Debose to jumped on the Tide 19 seconds in. The "Swamp" was an instant madhouse. For a moment. Alabama won 38-10.

That was 11 years ago. Nothing is the same, other than Saban is still there and his players are still cyborgs. This type of environment does not phase them. It's worth noting, however, that Alabama quarterback Bryce Young (71 percent, 7 TD, no INT) has never been the starting quarterback in a place like this. It's also worth noting that the last time Alabama went on the road to a packed madhouse (pre-COVID) the Tide lost at Auburn. Actually, they've lost two of their past three true road games, dating to the 2019 season.

It can happen and the crowd has to do its part, if the Gators are going to win.

And so do the Gators, obviously.

Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. on CBS, with Brad Nessler on play-by-play, Gary Danielson providing analysis and Jamie Erdahl working the sidelines. For radio and television broadcast info, click here. The game will be replayed Wednesday at 11:30 a.m. and Thursday at 4 a.m. on the SEC Network.

Also, check out the "1st & 10 Pre-Game Show," hosted by Jeff Cardozo via the Florida Gators Facebook page, starting at 2:30. This week's lineup includes chats with Mullen, as well as tailback Dameon Pierce, linebacker Jeremiah Moon and Bama radio's Roger Hoover, as well as a "Mic'd Up" segment with UF defensive end Zachary Carter.

Finally, follow senior staff writer Scott Carter (@GatorsScott) for commentary and analysis throughout the game. FloridaGators.com will have complete coverage content from the game late Saturday night and fresh content Sunday, also.